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1/In his classic1967 film, The Producers ( https://www.youtube . com/watch? v=1zY1orxW8Aw) Mel Brook’s takes the darkest period of not too distant German history and reduces it to mocking parody. Still remembered for its classic song of scorn, Springtime for Hitler and Germany,
2/its lyrics should today remind the censor’s pen of Deutschland what can happen when imposed silence becomes the chorus of the day:
Germany was having trouble
What a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader
To restore its former glory
Where,oh where was he?
Where could that man be?
Germany was having trouble
What a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader
To restore its former glory
Where,oh where was he?
Where could that man be?
3/We looked around
And then we found
The man for you and me
And now it's
Springtime for hitler and germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out
Here comes the master race
Although freedom of speech is referenced in Article 5 of the German
And then we found
The man for you and me
And now it's
Springtime for hitler and germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out
Here comes the master race
Although freedom of speech is referenced in Article 5 of the German
4/Constitution, it is very much a feel-good after thought intended to protect communications already swept “clean” by an indiscriminate, hazy gag that “vets” the marketplace of ideas of speech or association that is "qualified for disturbing public peace" by inciting "hatred
5/against parts of the populace" or calling for "acts of violence or despotism against them" or by attacking "the human dignity of others by reviling, maliciously making contemptible or slandering parts of the populace". From this rabbit hole of ambiguity is born the “Network
6/Enforcement Act” which serves as the German vehicle of harassment for those made uncomfortable by ideas and opinions aired or exchanged on social media platforms. Often unable to digest let alone rebut a painful landscape of fact, increasingly this Act has become the prime ally
7/for those who prefer a tailored excuse to painful reality. It is after-all easier to cheer than to confront, to deny than to demand, to bully than to brace for the reality of the darkness of one’s favorite politician, movement or state. Of late, on Twitter, I awaken daily to a
8/notice of another “complaint” filed against me via the Act. Whether a conscious effort to harass me into silence or to intimidate me into using my time to discuss the latest in fine dining or to explore who is fucking who , , , it will not work. Today’s list of complaints reads
9/like a veritable tantrum from a child so intellectually challenged as to be unable to deal with the painful reality of the world which besieges them or to articulate a defense to facts that overwhelm their shallow.
1)“Yang has no mind. Just an auto- vote counter ”;
2)“Forever
1)“Yang has no mind. Just an auto- vote counter ”;
2)“Forever
10/more the victim , ,Israel is a primer on mass atrocities. It is precisely for whom the Rome Statute was enacted ”;
3)The years pass , , ,the drive for liberation and justice only strengthens”;
4)I guess for him the free exercise clause is a work-out regimen. On the other hand
3)The years pass , , ,the drive for liberation and justice only strengthens”;
4)I guess for him the free exercise clause is a work-out regimen. On the other hand
11/his client likes his Jews to be ‘short and fat with a hook-nose’”.
These four tweets reflect the ideal of the marketplace of ideas, in particular one fueled by the liberty of others to post their own view of an issue or idea and which invite a response: an exchange of opinion
These four tweets reflect the ideal of the marketplace of ideas, in particular one fueled by the liberty of others to post their own view of an issue or idea and which invite a response: an exchange of opinion
12/and fact that may not prove comfortable or popular to be sure, but nevertheless remain protected and pure speech at its finest & intended purpose. Whether my rejoinder to political candidate Yang’s opposition to BDS, response to the Israeli President’s futile “they hate us all
13/dispatch” of ICC jurisdiction; salute to a Palestinian imprisoned for decades since age 14, , , just because Israel can; or reminding the world of the precise commentary of the former president of the United States about Jews, these posts are speech , , , pure & simple. As
14/intended, they fuel the fire of reflection & invite response. For Germans unable to handle the pain of verbal rouse & rub I urge you & your government to recall that:
15/“Springtime for Hitler and Germany” finds it genesis not from the threat of freedom of thought and expression, but the echo of silence.
